Networking (pt. 2)

Last week, I wrote about what it might be like to go to a campus media conference.

This week, I can tell you what it was like.

Awesome.

My fellow Wood Wordians and I headed out to NYC for a Media Mate Round Table event. I was so nervous the day before because the event involved networking. I had never done anything like that before.

It’s always great to try new things. 

After a bus ride to the city and a few morning sweets from a Carlo’s Bakery, we headed to the Harvard Club for the event.

We arrived, and I was secretly surprised by the size of the room. It was small with only a few round tables (hence the title “round table”).

I was worried at first, because a small room means a small number of attendees. That means everyone has to speak. Everyone.

Speaker Jessica Siegel giving advice to collegiate journalists    Photo Credit/Anne Zukowski

Once we got to our seats, a newspaper exchange started. Since The Wood Word is no longer in print, we had no copies with us to share. We did, however, have plenty of First Amendment pins with our website on them. People really loved the pins.

After a few minutes of nervously sitting at the table, I decided that I needed to start talking to new people. And I did. I stood up (slowly, because walking in heels is a task in itself), walked over to the group of people chatting over a newspaper, and introduced myself.

Phew.

After that first introduction, everything was easy.

I was able to meet so many writers in the first few minutes after the dreaded introduction.

What was I worried about?

We eventually sat down and were given time to discuss what we do with even more people at the round table.

Some of the topics we discussed were mobile journalism, web vs. print (which we were very familiar with), ethics in the media, and the uses of technology in the digital age.

We talked to people from Brooklyn College, Point Park University, Temple University, and other schools. There were even writers from Connecticut there to talk to us.

We had a lot of insight to offer other newspapers because of our switch to online-only and our focus on social media.

We gained a lot of valuable information as to how other newspapers are run and some new ideas that we could possibly implement with The Wood Word.

Anne Zukowski, Rachel Looker and I were dressed to impress Photo Credit/Anne Zukowski

We even made some new friends and spent some time in the city with them after the round table ended.

I think the trip was a success. We explored new places and new ways to run our newspaper.

I think it’s safe to say that I’m ready for more networking.

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Jessica is a freshman Comm Arts major with a concentration in Digital Media. When she’s not in class, she’s Opinion Editor for The Wood Word, a DJ for 91.7 VMFM, and a member of the TV-Marywood crew. In her free time, she enjoys writing,  singing, and playing tennis, but not all at once.